Display case



Nov. 6, 1962 c. E. JOHNSON 3,062,607

DISPLAY CASE c. E. JOHNSON 3,062,607

Nov. 6, 1962 DISPLAY CASE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20, 1959 3,062,607DISPLAY CASE Carl E. Johnson, Wilmette, lll., assigner to The KellingNut Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed July zo, 1959,ser. No. 828,257 3 Claims. (Cl. 312-1-17) The present invention relatesgenerally to nut display cases and more particularly to a nut displaycase construction which is provided with interlocking means for themovable parts disposed therein.

High quality nuts are ordinarily sold to consumers from relativelyshallow bins contained within a heated display case. To serve thecustomer, the seller scoops the nuts out of the bins into individualpackages. In the process of scooping the 'nuts out ofthe bins, andespecially when the bins are rather full, the nuts tend to pile upadjacent the walls of the bins and if not properly retained, spill overthe Ysides of the bins into adjacent bins and/ or into the display case.lSuch spilling of nuts not only limits the capacity of the bins but alsonecessitates resorting of the nuts Vand/ or frequent cleaning of thedisplay case to Yprevent the accumulation of nuts beneath the bins.

Separators have been previously Aprovided between the bins of nutdisplay cases, but such separators were diflicult to clean and permittedparticles to fall between the separators and the bins. Moreover, thebins tended to move about as the seller scooped the nuts from the bins.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is the provision of adisplay case which is provided with means for interlocking removable nutbins in position, which interlocking means is so constructed that thenuts therein are prevented from falling between the bins and/or intoadjacent bins. Another object is the provision of a nut display casewhich is so constructed that relatively infrequent cleaning is required,but when cleaning is required, the construction is such that the displaycase may be easily cleaned. A further object is the provision of easilymanipulated interlocking means for securing parts of the display case inposition, which interlocking means do not detract from the appearance ofthe display case.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent by reference to the following description and accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of a nut display case showingvarious features of the present invention, portions of the nut display'case being broken away to show the interior thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken generally alongline 2--2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 yis a reduced horizontal sectional view taken generally alongline 3-3 of FIGURE 2';

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view takengenerally along line 4-4 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view taken generally alonglines 5-5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken generallyalong line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View taken generallyalong line 7-7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the interlocking member shown inFIGURES 4 through '1; l

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takengenerally along line 9;9 of FIGURE 3, with the drawing being'foreshortened in both directions by breaking away portions; and,

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of kone of the side interlockingpartitions shown in'FIGURE 3.

The nut display case shown in the drawings includes a housing having endwalls, back wall, bottom wall, top

fice

wall and a removable transparent front wall. A series of bins of bulknuts are disposed in side by side relationship in the lower portion ofthe housing and are supported therein by the bottom wall. Means areprovided between the bins and between the bins and the end walls forinterlocking the bins in position on the bottom wall and for preventingnuts within the bins from spilling over the sides thereof. Additionalmeans are also provided to interlock the transparent wall in position.

More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment the display caseincludes a housing 10 which is made of a high strength material such assteel and is generally rectangular in horizontal cross section. Thehousing 10 is constructed so that it is selfsustaining and includes apair of upright end walls 12, an upright back wall 14 suitably connectedto the rear edge ofthe end walls 12, a lower front wall 16 suitablyconnected to the lower forward edges of the end walls 12, and ahorizontally extending top wall 18 suitably connected to the upper edgesof the end walls 12 and the back wall 14. A horizontally extendingbottom wall 20 is disposed within the housing 10 and is suitablyconnected toy the front wall 16, back wall 14 and end walls 12. Thecorners of the housing 10 are rounded to enhance the appearance of thedisplay case.

In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of rearwardly extending,elongated, relatively shallow bins 22 for bulk nuts are disposed in sideby side relationship on the bottoni wall 20 of the housing 10. The bins22 have upright side walls 24, horizontally extending bottom walls 26,inwardly inclined front and rear walls 2S and 30, respectively. The lips31 of the side walls 24 of the bins 22 are generally horizontal and areparallel to each other.

The 'bins 22 are interlocked in position by interlocking means 32 whichare so constructed that they maintain the bins 22 in position and alsoprevent nuts from spilling over the side walls 24 of the bins 22. In theillustrated embodiment, the interlocking means 32 includes a gen-rerally vertically extending intermediate partition 34 disposed betweenthe bins 22 and generally vertically eX- tending side partitions 36disposed between the bins 22 and the end walls 12 of the housing 10. i

As (shown particularly in FIGURE 9, the intermediate partition 34 isprovided with a ange 40 which extends at right angles to the plane ofthe partition 34 at the bottom thereof. The flange 40 is interposedbetween one of the bins 22 and the bottom wall 20` of the housing 10, tointerlock the intermediate partition 34 in position.

Nuts within the bins 22 are prevented from falling between ytheintermediate partition 34 and the adjacent inner side walls 24 of thebins 22 by downwardly directed, elongated, U-shaped channels 42 whichare positioned so as to tit over the lips 31 of the inner side walls 24for substantially their entire length. The channels 42 are attached tothe respective sides of the partition 34 by suitable means vsuch as aplurality of rivets 44 connecting downward extensions 45 of the innerlegs of the channels 42 to the partition 34.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 9, the marginal portions of the intermediatepartition 34 are bent back upon themselves to` provide rounded corners.

Nuts are prevented from spilling over the outerside walls 24 of thelbins y22 by the side partitions 36. Each of the side partitions 36 isprovided with upper and lower outwardly extending flanges 46 and 48,respectively, which space lthe 'side partitions 36 from the associatedend wall v12.

As show n in FIGURE 9, each side partition 36 -is-inte'r`- locked withthe housing 10 by a downwardly extending marginal portion 5 0 of theupper il'ange 46 which portion is slidably received by elongated,horizontally extending clip `52 on the end vwall'12`of the housing 10.The clip 3 52 also serves to retain the lower margin of an end wallwindow 51 which is provided to afford the purchaser a side view of thecontents of the display case, the upper margin being retained by asimilar clip 53.

The forward edge of each side partition 36 is provided with an outwardlydirected ilange 55 to enhance the appearance of the display case.

To prevent the nuts from spilling over the outer side walls 24 of thebins 22, downwardly directed, elongated, U-shaped channels 54 arepositioned so as to lit over the lips 31 of the adjacent outer sidewalls 24 for substantially their entire length. The channels 54 areattached to the respective side partitions 36 by suitable means such asrivets 56 connecting a downward extension 57 of the outer legs of thechannels 54 to the respective side partitions 36.

As shown particularly in FIGURE 9, the side partitions 36, the bins 22,and the intermediate partition 34 cooperate with each other to securelyinterlock the partitions 34 and 36 and bins 22 in position. To unlockthe interlocking arrangement thus formed, the side partitions 36 aredisengaged and then the bins 22 are separated from the intermediatepartition 34.

The portion of the housing in front of the bins 22 is enclosed by arectangular front panel or wall 58 of transparent material. The panel 58is connected to the housing 1G so that it may be pivoted about its loweredge for cleaning or other maintenance. As shown in FIG- URE 2, thebottom edge of the transparent panel 58 is disposed in a guideway 59formed along the upper edge of the front wall 16.

The side edges of the panel 58, which are protected by channels 60, arereceived by guideways 62 formed by inwardly directed llanges 64connected to turned-back forward marginal portions of the end walls 12.To enhance the appearance of the display case and also to allow thepurchaser to view the nuts in the bins from above, the transparent panel58 and the associated forward edges of the end walls 12 are slantedrearwardly.

The transparent panel S8 is interlocked in position by a pair ofinterlocking members 68 disposed on the upper corner portions of thetransparent panel 58. Each of the interlocking members 68 includes anelongated generally U-shaped body part 70 which slidably straddles theadjacent flange 64, as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. The upper edge of thecorner portion of the transparent panel 58 is engaged by adownwardly-turned hook part 72 connected to the upper end of the forwardleg 74 of the body part 70.

The rearward leg 76 of the body part 70 is extended outwardly and isprovided with a rearwardly extending flange 78 which, in cooperationwith the forward ange 55 of the associated side partition 36, preventsinward movement of the locking member 68.

The upper portion of the housing 10 is enclosed with a generallyrectangular panel or wall 80 of transparent material which is hinged atits upper edge. The side edges of the upper panel 80, which areprotected by channels 82, are received by guideways 84 formed byinwardly directed llanges 86 connected to turned-back forward marginalportions of the end walls 12.

The upper panel 80 and the associated forward edges of the end walls 12are slanted rearwardly, as shown in FIGURE 2, at an angle to the fronttransparent panel 58 to enhance the appearance of the display case.

The upper transparent wall 80 is locked by suitable locking means, suchas screws 88, which extend through the side channels 82 and arethreadedly engaged with the flanges 86. The forward legs of the sidechannels 82 are extended downwardly in order to hide the hook parts 72of the interlocking members 68.

Suitable heating means (not shown) are connected to the upper wall 18 ofthe housing 10 to heat the nuts within the bins 22. The back wall 14 ofthe housing, the intermediate partition '.34 and the side partitions 36are preferably made of a material that may be polished to enhance theappearance of the nuts stored in the bins 22.

In the illustrated embodiment, portions of the back wall 14 of thehousing are hinged to enable the seller to gain access to the displaycase to package nuts for the customer.

As can be seen from the above, a display case is provided which holds alarge quantity of nuts in bulk form without the possibility of nutsspilling over the sides of Vthe bins. The display case is so constructedthat it can Ibe easily disassembled for cleaning, and yet the displaycase parts are securely locked in position.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the above described nutdisplay case without departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention.

Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A nut display case comprising a housing, a series of bins disposed inside by side relationship in said housing, said bins having parallellips along adjacent sides thereof, an upright partition disposed betweena pair of said bins and extending to a position substantially above thelips of said bins, a flange connected generally at right angles to thelower margin of said partition, said flange being located under thebottom of one bin, and a horizontally disposed, downwardly directed,generally U-shaped channel connected to each side of said partition insuch a position as to t over the adjacent lip of said bin.

2. A nut display case comprising a housing, a series of bins disposed inside by side relationship in said housing, said bins having parallellips along adjacent sides thereof, an upright intermediate partitiondisposed between a pair of said bins and extending to a positionsubstantially above the lips of said bins, a ange connected generally atright angles to the lower margin of the intermediate partition, saidange being located under one bin, upright side partitions locatedbetween the end walls of the housing and the bins and connected to theend walls, and a horizontally disposed, downwardly directed, generallyU-shaped channel connected to each side partition and each side of saidintermediate partition in such a position as to tit over the adjacentlip of said bin.

3. A nut display case comprising a housing, two rearwardly extendingbins disposed in side by side relationship in said housing, said binshaving parallel lips along adjacent sides thereof an uprightintermediate partition disposed between the bins and extending to aposition substantially above the lips of said bins, a ange connectedgenerally at right angles to the lower margin of said intermediatepartition and interposed between one of said bins and the bottom wall ofsaid housing, upright side partitions located between the end walls ofthe housing and the bins, a horizontally extending clip connected to theinside surface of each end wall, an L-shaped ange connected to the uppermargin of each side partition in such a position as to be received bysaid clip, and a horizontally disposed, downwardly directed, generallyU- shaped channel connected to each side partition and each side of saidintermediate partition in such a position as to lit over the adjacentlip of said bin, said channels being of sufficient length to coversubstantially the entire length of said lip.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,158,807 Husz Nov. 2, 1915 1,601,376 Sherer Sept. 28, 1926 1,642,466Sorenson Sept. 13, 1927 ,1,666,851 Good Apr. 17, 1928 1,721,132 OrthwineJuly 16, 1929 l1,882,375 Vanderveld Oct. 11, 1932 2,117,404 Curtis May17, 1938 2,613,860 Hoffman Oct. 14, 1952 2,661,996 Holderle Dec. 8, 1953

